Free Like the Wind
by WillowSioui
Summary: Elxa DalxOC, ElodinxOC  minor . Kvothe finds himself meeting Mast Sympathist's wife, who is residing in Haven. What cauused her to go there, and why is she so interested in Kvothe? Spoilers from 'The Wise Man's Fear'. Ratings may change.


**Disclaimer:**** I do not own The Name of the Wind or A Wise Man's Fear; I do, however, own the OC and the plot.**

_There it was: the wind. A beautiful thing, marvelous and completely selfish; moving on its own accord, not caring who or what it disturbs. The most amazingly volatile yet stunningly pleasing creature, it truly is its own. Everything bends to the will of the wind; the trees, water, earth and fire…even people, sheets of music, and anything else that it wishes to move. The wind is inconstant, unstable, fickle and unnerving; but never is it adapted to one's will. Even if the name of this creature is known to a person, they only own a portion and for a fraction of a moment. The wind, above all else, is master unto itself; the wind owns the Namer more than the Namer owns the wind. It is free and ever-changing, clear and unfocused, cruel and sweet…the wind in itself is the thing that moves all earth. The king, the master, the lord. The hope, the dreams, the need. We call out to the wind, but when does it truly call back to us? When it screams and tears and whirls? Or when it breezes and strokes and caresses? No, as the wind was being watched from a tiled rooftop, it does not call out to the man sitting and watching it. It does not bend when he croons softly to it. It merely sits and floats about, watching intensely. No, not even that. It just is._

Kvothe stands by his worktable at the Fishery, working on a simple hand-held sympathy lamp that was just to be used for a bit of simple tinkering to satisfy his newly-found span of time. His nimble hands scratch some sygaldry into the side of the lamp, and he ponders back on what he should do once he is done with the lamp. Perhaps he should ask Wilem and Simmon to the Eolian for some good music and drinks. Yes, Kvothe thinks, that would work very well indeed. Looking up, he can see a young woman weaving her way in-between the worktables, and he has to blink a few times as he realizes that she is not as young as he had first thought. She had to be at least a dozen years older than him, but she did not look very old; but, he thinks to himself, neither does Devi. She has auburn hair that flows down her back in messy wave-like curls, her eyes an oddly grey color; much like the one he had become accustomed to seeing on the faces of the Adem. Her clothing was simple, almost as if she couldn't even be bothered to put on something nice; a plainly sleeveless white shirt and long white, flowing skirt. Both of these items were somewhat dirty, and it wasn't until Kvothe saw her feet that he gave a small jump of surprise: she wasn't wearing any shoes. This would be odd in any place or at any time, but the fact that she was unshod in a place where there was a large amount of dangerous things on the ground was not exactly an intelligent thing. Finally, Kvothe wasn't the only person to notice the woman, and the workshop stooped to an eerie quiet; Master Kilvin exits his office as Cammar peeks his head inside to tell him of the strange visitor. As soon as the big Ceald notices her, his dangerously angered expression grows soft and somewhat weary. He walks towards her slowly and then very, very carefully he reaches out to touch her tiny shoulder. The woman jump slightly, then turns to look at the large man with a cheeky smile. He reaches out his hands to her, and she takes them; her hands looking ridiculously tiny in his.

"You should not be walking in here without shoes, Helenia. I'll walk you back outside, _Lhinsatva_?" The woman, Helenia, gives a dreamy smirk and bobs her head in agreement, her auburn hair falling over her shoulders and down the front of her dress.

"_Lhin_." Kvothe watches curiously as the two of them slowly leave the Fishery, and then decides to follow them, abandoning his sympathy lamp. He hides in the shadows as he sees a few of Arwyl's more talented El'the students; even Arwyl's guiller was there. Kilvin whispers to the guiller and the tall man nods while the three El'the coax Helenia towards them. They try to hand her a pair of nice shoes, but she absolutely refuses to go anywhere near them. Eventually the El'the and the guiller, as Kvothe remembers his name as Zsombor, lead her away. Kvothe sneaks back to his worktable to find everybody tinkering away once more; he looks up at Manet, who had just walked up. He opens his mouth to ask who the woman was, but stops when he notices the uncomfortable expression upon his older friend's face.

The two of them tinker until late in the night, when Kilvin forces them to leave the fishery and get a few hours of sleep each. This caused a bit of a friendly and not-altogether unfamiliar bickering between Manet and Kilvin, so Kvothe left by himself and started his way back to his room at Ankers'. As he does, he notices Elodin sitting on the top of a roof, looking as if he is pacing back and forth on the spot. Deciding that he might as well, Kvothe climbs up to the top of the building, and clears his throat inconspicuously. The Master Namer looks at him, clearly agitated. As soon as Kvothe opens his mouth to ask what's wrong, Elodin silences him with a rather rough gesture.

"Not now, Re'lar Kvothe. I am very busy trying to think my way out of something." A little irritated at the rather forceful silencing the Master had given him, Kvothe turns his back on the fretting man and continues his way to his small room. As soon as he is close to the window of his room, a throat clears behind him, and Kvothe turns around to see a rather sheepish-looking Elodin standing there awkwardly.

"What?" He snaps at him, making the man take a little side-step that gives Kvothe a little shock at how similar it is to the one that Auri makes quite often. Elodin is silent for a moment, and then looks towards his feet as he speaks.

"I need your help, Re'lar Kvothe…" Kvothe bites off the quick remark that he was going to supply the Namer with, then nods his head with a small but strained 'yes'. He follows the half-cracked man over the rooftops until they come to the broad, stone-finished roof of the Master's Hall. They clambered over to the West side and Elodin knocked on a third-story window, where a beautiful bright light was leaking out from. Kvothe started as the window opened and Elxa Dal was smiling at them in a delighted manner.

"Elodin! Re'lar Kvothe, please, come in!" Elodin climbed into the room, Kvothe following after a few tense seconds. The room was beautiful to say the least; bookshelves lined two of the four walls, each shelf jammed with more books than the shelves could hold. There were books strewn all across the floor as well, and a large four-poster bed was sitting against the far wall. A fireplace was situated in the corner, and Master Dal sat in a chair, motioning for the other two to do the same. Elodin sits gingerly, like he had fallen hard on one of his hips, Kvothe perching on the edge of his chair. Elxa Dal offers them both a drink, but they both deny one politely. Looking expectantly to the two, Dal's warm smile slowly disappears at the grim expression on Elodin's face. The Master Namer draws in a deep breath, then lets it out in a gush before he begins,

"Helenia had been found by Kilvin in the Fishery today." Kvothe watches in surprise as the Master Sympathist drains of all color, his knuckles going white as he holds onto the arms of his chairs so hard that Kvothe is scared that he might break them.

"Are you sure…?" Dal says in a strained and slightly pain-filled voice. Elodin nods his head and the Master Sympathist stood up swiftly, his expression turning sickly. He poured himself a drink and downs it in one go, making a face as the alcohol burns his throat. Placing his glass down, Elxa Dal grips the edges of the small table with his hands and speaks without so much as looking over his shoulder at them.

"Please leave, you two. I need some time to think…" Elodin gracefully stands up and Kvothe nearly trips over his own chair in his hurry to do the same. The two of them then crawl back out of the window and make their way across the rooftops towards Anker's. Kvothe looks towards Elodin and opens his mouth, but the Namer answers his question before he can ask it.

"Helenia is Dal's wife, Kvothe. She used to be a student of mine, one of my guillers. She cracked…" He trails off and stands still on the rooftop, then looks towards Kvothe with an expression that cannot be read by the red-haired Ruh.

"I'm going to visit her…" He says softly, almost to himself, and then continues, "You can come if you like. But the same rules apply to her as those that apply to Alder Whin." Kvothe cuts him off, rattling off the 'rules' numbly.

"No noises or sudden movements. Don't talk unless spoken to. If I do speak, keep my voice low. Yes, Master Elodin, I know the rules of Haven." Elodin stares at him for a long moment, the wind pulling at their clothing and whipping them around; his expression suddenly turns dark and extremely serious.

"Those are not the rules of Haven, Re'lar Kvothe. Those are _my_ rules for speaking to the _residents_ of Haven. There is a big difference. My rules make more sense than those of Haven." The two of them start once more over the rooftops, Kvothe slipping once when they go over a clay-tile roof. Once at the very edge of the University buildings, Elodin leads Kvothe down to ground level and they make their way towards the monstrously huge Haven. Elodin leads the way inside the building and Kvothe is, once more, surprised at the quiet of the place. Elodin ignores the man behind the entrance desk, and just walks up a flight of stairs, Kvothe on his heels. They make their way up the stairs to the very top floor, the very last door at the end of a ridiculously long hallway. Elodin knocks softly on the door, and it immediately opens without a sound. Helenia is standing in the doorway, wearing a somewhat see-through dressing gown with a white silken robe over it. Once she sees Elodin, her grey eyes widen in surprise, and her heart-shaped lips spread into a gloriously beautiful smile. She motions for the two to enter her room, and they comply easily. Kvothe looks around the room and is surprised at how lavish it is. A large bed sits in the North corner of the room, and books line the walls and are strewn everywhere. There is a fireplace in the South end of the room, and chairs with cushions, and…well, it is very similar to his previous rooms at the Maer's estates. Kvothe gives a slight start when he sees a little wooden Helenia sitting politely on one book shelf, dressed in a beautiful royal purple gown. He gives a small smile as he knows who had made it for her. They all sit down in a small sitting area in the middle of the room, and Helenia smiles sweetly towards Elodin.

"What brings you hear, dear Elodin?" Her voice, though soft, carries through the air even though she had not spoken very loud at all. Elodin grins and easily falls into a comfortable air while he relaxes in his chair, slouching a bit, and talks of the weather. Kvothe sits silently and looks around the room, a little frustrated and more than a little irritated that he had been completely ignored by both parties. His eyes catch on a pile of children's toys in the corner of the room, and he thought back, wondering if Elxa Dal had ever brought up having children…he couldn't, but maybe he was one of the people who just did not speak of such things. The time goes by somewhat slowly, Kvothe still not being included, and then Elodin stands up suddenly, bringing Kvothe out of the doze he had been stuck in.

"Well, Helenia, we should be going now. It was great to see you, however." Helenia smiles dreamily as Elodin motions for Kvothe to get up and make for the door, which Kvothe does immediately. As the two of them close the door behind them, Elodin waves down a man who was walking by.

"I am telling you three times, Fegi, go and get the ward doctor. Helenia is about to have another relapse, and she'd going to need to be sedated. Go!" The young nurse runs off, just in time for Kvothe to hear Helenia scream from within her room and the sound of something smashing; it is all muffled because of the nature of the door, but he could hear it all the same. Looking at Elodin, the man motions for him to follow as doctors and nurses start to rush past them at dead-runs to get to Helenia's room. As they walk, Kvothe can hear the door open and Helenia screaming at the top of her lungs about something that's missing. Elodin walks Kvothe to the front doors, then motions for him to leave.

"I'm going to help with Helenia; you go and get some sleep." With that, Elodin closes the doors to Haven and Kvothe is left out in the night alone; the wind blowing even more ferociously than it had when they got into the building. Kvothe starts to walk back to Anker's for, hopefully, the final time that night, thinking of how much Elodin had shown him in one night. There was also Helenia, Mast Sympathist Elxa Dal's wife, who had children's toys in her room but no children, and her relapse had something to do about 'missing' something…but for now, at this moment, Kvothe was too tired to think of anything more than good, warm food and a soft and comfortable bed to sleep in.

**Review, please! What do you think? I took a long time to write this out, and I really want to know…do you like it? Do you hate it? What can I work on? What did I do well? Please, cookies to all who help! :)**


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